Debates at the 2008 World Investment Conference identified a critical new challenge that a large number of countries in the world will have to deal with in the coming years: securing the brainpower that is essential to attractiveness and competitiveness.

Pressure has grown over today’s brainpower model, reflecting the increasing mobility of talents and brain drains affecting many countries, as well as the looming shortage of skilled labor.These are all important drivers behind new momentum for a more efficient “brainpower ecosystem”, highlighting the pressing need for countries and cities to invest in skilled labor. Talents will be the main source of leverage in the shift towards knowledge-based economies, and should thus be the first priority for both public and private sector strategies, especially in Europe. Organized in cooperation with the European Union, the Brainpower Forum will bring together key players to analyze and promote best practices in building stronger links between Higher Education, Research and the Private sector– the three pillars of the new brainpower ecosystem. The dynamics of this ecosystem mean working towards: more efficient higher education and training systems (with improved coordintion between supply and demand of skills) the reinforcement of Europe’s attractiveness for talents (attract, train and retain) the development of a global governance of talents to ensure new balance in brainpower resources